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Reynoldsburg contract proposal stirs up teachers

Merit pay, end of health plan get notice statewide

Jonathan Quilter | Columbus DispatchKim Cooper, co-president of the Reynoldsburg Education Association, speaks to a crowd of about 500 teachers and community members outside Summit Road Elementary on Tuesday, July 15, 2014.

Jonathan Quilter | Columbus DispatchThe group was rallying about concerns of the school board's proposal and what they called a lack of respect for teachers during contract negotiations.

Jonathan Quilter | Columbus DispatchTeachers and community members march from Summit Road Elementary to the school board meeting at the high school.

Jonathan Quilter | Columbus DispatchSchool board member Joe Begeny speaks at the opening of the school board meeting at Reynoldsburg High School.

Jonathan Quilter | Columbus DispatchTeachers and community members stand and applaud after listening to school board member Joe Begeny speak.

Jonathan Quilter | Columbus DispatchGina Daniels, spokeswoman for the Reynoldsburg Education Association, addresses the school board during the meeting.

Jonathan Quilter | Columbus DispatchA student listens to applause while addressing the school board during the meeting.

Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoJonathan Quilter | DispatchAbout 500 people, mostly teachers, attended a Reynoldsburg school-board meeting to protest a contract proposal that set raises based entirely on teachers’ ratings in the state’s new evaluation system.

Teachers’ union members from Columbus, Dayton, Bexley, Gahanna-Jefferson, Groveport Madison,
Licking Heights, South-Western, Westerville and Whitehall also showed up, as did a representative
from the Ohio Education Association.

“If there is ever a time to help make a stand, this is it,” said Alisha Wilson, president of the
Whitehall Education Association.

Wilson said she’s never taken a political stand in her seven years as union president. She
attended the meeting with nine other Whitehall teachers — all of them wearing their union
T-shirts.

What happens in Reynoldsburg has the potential to cause a ripple effect in other districts,
Reynoldsburg board member Joe Begeny said.

“No one has done a merit-pay system like what is being proposed,” he said. “Reynoldsburg has
always been a district everyone can look to lead the way.”

They also would be eligible for bonuses, including one of $30,000, if their schools performed
well on state report cards and they performed work beyond their classroom duties.

Rather than provide health-insurance coverage, the district would give teachers cash to purchase
their own insurance.

Reynoldsburg educators, parents, students and community members gathered at a rally prior to the
board meeting. Then, they burst into chants as they made their way to the performing-arts center at
Reynoldsburg High School’s Summit campus.

For 90 minutes, they raised concerns about the board’s contract proposal and its impact on
teacher morale and student learning. They noted that teachers have already made many concessions,
including taking on larger classes and sacrificing raises.

High-school teacher Gina Daniels talked about her decision to leave the district for a job in
Licking Heights.

That was partially to teach in a district where she lives, she said. But part of it is due to
the contract proposal.

“My decision came about by one district continuing to make decisions that I don’t think are best
for students and another district who promises the potential to allow me to focus on helping kids,”
said Daniels, who was the spokeswoman for the Reynoldsburg Education Association.

Since last August, 50 teachers have resigned from the district, according to the district. Only
28 teachers resigned during the same time period last year.

But contract negotiations are not the only reason why teachers are leaving, officials said.

Some are leaving because their spouse has been relocated or they were offered a job closer to
home. Some have resigned because they weren’t a good fit in the district, district spokeswoman
Tricia Moore said.

But several speakers at last night’s meeting spoke out against merit pay, including 12-year-old
Abi Swift.

“Is it fair to the teachers to have their pay dependent on our scores?” asked Swift, who will be
a seventh-grader at Waggoner Road Junior High this fall. “Is it fair to the students to feel that
kind of pressure?”

Since contract talks started in May, teachers have gathered outside of the administrative
offices and rallied with community members to voice their disappointment in the school board.

Last month, the Reynoldsburg Education Association filed an unfair-labor-practice charge against
the board for posting details of bargaining proposals on its Website.